Awesome staff

Sanctuary Grand Memories Room 33206- Feb.4-11 Room: Room location was perfect, Very close to everything Amenities and room size were excellent. Having a his and her bano was also a nice Luxury. The room was really starting to show wear, but was clean. Bar fridge and liquor dispenser were also a nice feature. Service: Everyone was soooo friendly and accommodating. Our Butlers- Jose and Noel really looked after us. They also genuinely cared about our needs and giving us good service. Bellm [... read more]an-Anthony and Randy also went above and beyond their"duties". As maritimers and Canadians, we felt like we made friends and were not just treated like a room number. Sanctuary Resort- very peaceful, well kept, excellent entertainment. After going over to the Grand memories side, we were thankful for having booked the Sanctuary. The Grand memories side was unkept, almost completely under repair, most things you looked at were broken and the noise level was higher. Food: It was really hit or miss. Food standards are not the same as home. Bring medicine for gastro/ diarrhea issues... You'll need it. Breakfast Sanctuary restaurant,from the menu, was good. Although the pancakes we ordered gave us a good chuckle as they were 3" in diameter. The buffet at grand memories is gross and the are flies on everything , which can really turn your stomach...especially after a night of drinking. Lunch: The beach BBQ was our best bet. The bbq part, not the buffet inside. Also the pool side menu service was excellent and the staff at that bar were super accommodating and friendly. We wandered around most days at lunch trying to find something decent, but couldn't. We were told there was a place that served chicken fingers, quesadillas... But could not find out where. Supper: When we arrived we were handed our pre booked reservations for the restaurants. The times we were given were quite late and our butler was very accommodating to make the changes. Gin Seng- by far the most flavor of all. Awesome food and service Italian- barely edible... Alpha-ghetti tastes better Sanctuary restaurant- i enjoyed the seafood ..menu and theme changes each night Creole- beach bbq section turns into a la carte at night... It was ok...not great Room service- very convenient, but can be slow Entertainment Everywhere we went in the resort there was some type of awesome entertainment. Music in the lobby, antique cars parked around resort, bubble party at pool, white party at night with excellent music, aqua dance, cuban day and party... Such a talented bunch. Beach Once we discovered our own area at the beach with service to our seat, we were happy campers. Excursions: We went to Varadero the first day on the double decker bus. I enjoyed the trip, as we got in at night and it gave us a good sense of the area. Felt very safe and enjoyed the market! We also went to Havana in a classic car taxi with our own tour guide. It was perfect as we were on our own time schedule and Chayane, our tour guide, answered ALL of our questions. She walked around old Havana with us and was really informative. They took us to an awesome restaurant and it was the Best meal we had all week! We felt very safe and would highly recommend doing this. Our butler made the arrangements. Overall we enjoyed the vacation and would have loved it if there were more information in our room about the services, restaurants, and entertainment each day at the resort. Also the internet is REALLY sketchy and dial up at best....

Awesome resort!

The Sanctuary at Grand Memories in Varadero was amazing. The staff was so nice. The butlers were always willing to help with anything. The beach was beautiful. The grounds are well taken care of. I loves eating a la carte for all meals and it was really good food. Room was always clean and well stocked. I would go back again!

Excellent place for R&R

The Sanctuary is a beautiful adults only resort inside the much bigger Grand Memories. The gardens and pool are very nice, the layout of the bungalows convenient to the lounge and restaurant. The food was consistently good at the Sanctuary restaurant, as well as the pool bar for snacks and sandwiches. Rooms were clean and spacious, and hot water and A/C worked great every day. Service at the Sanctuary was excellent, can't say enough about the people who work here. The beach is very nic [... read more]e, and happy to have our own Sanctuary section. While we had access to use the amenities at the GM, we ate one night at the buffet and regretted it. We also sat by the main pool for a few hours one afternoon and it reminded us how happy we were with our choice to stay at the Sanctuary. The gym is adequate for a vacation workout, and the Gourmet and Asian a la carts were both very good. This is our 15+ time to Cuba in past 15 years at 7 different resorts, and I would definitely stay at this resort again.

Nice resort, great people and beautiful beach

We spent a week in a diamond club jr suite. We were in building 33#307. I would recommend requesting second floor if you like to sit on balcony as 3rd floor rooms have cement walls! Our butler Jose was wonderful and eager to help. Room was cleaned and restocked daily. No hot water or AC issues. It was fairly plain and simple but definitely roomy with lots of cupboard space and a safe. We ate all our meals exclusively at the sanctuary section. They did a lovely job with presentation and the ser [... read more]vice was great. Food choices - on the slim side but ample enough. We enjoyed the lounge at various times every day with their varied entertainment. Some of it was superb actually! Drinks were always great. Pool was lovely and clean. Lots of chairs and cushions if you wanted them. The beach was expansive with lots of chairs. Didn't really understand the way the water sports operated as they appeared to only be available for a short time and then beached. We would go back to this resort!!

Nice stay...

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero is like a little oasis in a busy resort. The rooms are the closest to the beach, which has a section reserved only for guests staying at Sanctuary. The main restaurant is nice and quiet, with very good service and decent food. The pool is nice and quiet compared to the main pool at Grand Memories. The bar is nice and cosy, with good music in the evening. All in all we were very happy that we decided to stay at Sanctuary vs the main resort.

Winter Getaway

We spent one glorious week att he Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero from Jan 15-22/17. Our private butler was exceptional makng sure we got a ride to the main lobby whenever we needed one. The waitresses at the main buffet and the a la carte restuarants were wonderful but one person in particular was Tania Aguilar at the Main Buffet who was just the best. We couldn't have asked for anyone who was more pleasant that she. The only thing that we would suggest is that the trees in between the [... read more] Sanctuary buildings and the beach be taken down so that everyone can enjoy a clear view of the beautiful beach. For anyone who has a hard time walking in the sand or who cannot walk down the narrow wooden walkway, they miss out enjoying the beach. Other than than that, our week & the weather was beautiful.

Great Beach/Great Bar Staff

The Sanctuary Rooms are great, clean and large and well equipped. The staff are the best. From check in; to room service, to the staff on beach and in the cigar lounge, all great! I love the Sanctuary dining areas, the pool, the grounds. The adult section is why I return. I think the staff are great everywhere. My only wish is that as a Sanctuary guest, I would prefer all dinners to be within the adult section. Great time

Amazing Time in Sanctuary

My husband and I just returned from Varadero cuba.. we stayed at the Grand Memories.. Sanctuary.. this was our second time at Sanctuary, we were there in August 2016, we enjoyed it so much we decided to do a return trip for my 60th Birthday. We were not disappointed in August and we were definitely not disappointed this time either.. Our room was clean and well maintained, we never had any issues with the room or our cleaning lady..we had fresh towels every day as well as face cloths. Our mini  [... read more]frig was always restocked everyday with bottled water, pop, and beer….food is always a concern when travelling to Cuba..i can honestly say we never had any issues with food.. we ate al a carte every meal and not once did we leave a restaurant hungry..Staff go so far and above what one might expect.. everyday one of the staff stopped by to ask if everything was ok… any issues with your room.. or with staff.. the entertainment staff is awesome.. we had live music most evenings.. white party ( wear white clothing)..gala dinners diamond club dinners.. we were treated like royalty for 7 days.. the very best part of Sanctuary is their beaches, clean, never have to look for a chaise lounger , waiter always close at hand to get you what ever beverage you want.. all in all we had a fantastic vacation.. so fantastic that we are thinking of going back again in August..

Beautiful Beach

Ok, first off check in was quick and our room was well appointed. If you can afford to upgrade to Diamond do so. Service was mediocre, found staff to be preoccupied with the Internet so it was frustrating sometimes. Food was ok, room service was ok Butler service was ok. Go for the beach!!!! If you get a deal

Sanctuary is terrific !

We stayed in building 34 in the Sanctuary adult only side of the Grand Memories resort and it was terrific. Check-in was fast & efficient, butler was very friendly and gave us a mini-tour. All the staff at the Sanctuary as well as Grand Memories were very good. They really try their hardest to please and what Cuba doesn’t have in amenities they make up for in creativity. Food was quite good, especially at the Sanctuary restaurant and the Sanctuary section at the Ranchon for lunch. Itali [... read more]an and Asian restaurants also very good, as well as the theme nights (even had lobster once at the Wednesday Gala night and at the Cuban lunch at the pool). Wait staff were very friendly and helpful. Note: we did hear some people say they didn’t like the food but it may simply have been that it wasn’t to their taste. You can’t expect to get food exactly like in Canada or exactly as you are used to it being prepared. There were some items on the buffet or menus that I didn’t care for taste-wise, but they were well prepared and you just have to try other things until you find what you like. Our 2nd floor room was clean and well appointed. Cleaning staff very good, bar fridge replenished daily and towels/face cloths refreshed as needed. One of the two beds had a mattress that the springs could be felt, needed to be replaced, but overall ok. We had a problem with the toilet seat that was fixed within hours of our call to the front desk. Note that Cuba doesn't seem to have some luxury items like facial tissue. Pools were very nice, kept clean. We always found a lounger at the Sanctuary pool and the pool man would get us a lounge pad for comfort. The towel guy had a great sense of humour ! Lots of sun or shade for those who don’t like to sit in the sun. On our last day we discovered the south pool with a swim-up bar - very quiet and few people there but it was lovely. The bar staff were great at all the bars. We tipped all the staff from time to time and found they were terrific either way, but of course they do appreciate the odd tip. The main lobby at Grand Memories does get crowded and a few times the ladies washroom needed attention – no toilet paper or soap/hand towel paper. The Animation staff were great, daily activities well run. Loved the foam pool party and other pool activities. We didn’t care for the nightly entertainment, we found it was very amateurish and lacked good choreography. However there were other bands/music and activities we did enjoy at night. The Sanctuary Lounge Bar staff were great, as was the music and live entertainment there. The only thing we could suggest to improve the Sanctuary is that they need to create an outdoor lounge area with comfortable chairs in sun and shade so that people can sit outdoors to relax, talk, play cards or read (similar to what they have outside the main Grand Memories Lobby bar). There’s a spot outside the Lounge bar that might do, or an area in Ranchon that isn’t currently used that would be great with lounge chairs/settee’s. We ordered room service for the last day as we were leaving early for the airport and they arrived within 15 minutes of the requested time (order it a bit earlier than you need) and it was great. Terrific vacation all round, we highly recommend the Sanctuary !

November 26-December 3 2016 trip

We just got back from our stay at the Sanctuary Grand memories hotel in Varadero Cuba. We arrived the day after Fidel Castro passed away, which changed our trip completely unfortunately. All of Varadero(and probably Cuba) had a 9 day mourning period. This started the day we arrived and ended the Sunday after we left. This meant, absolutely NO music or entertainment and there was a very somber mood for the first 2-4 days of our trip. Luckily we brought our own music player and iPods. There was no [... read more] daytime games, water games, drinking games, or day or night time entertainment. Besides this crappy part, the resort was beautiful, grounds were very well maintained, rooms were clean and always equipped with beer/alcohol and water/pop. The staff was very friendly and pools were decently clean. The food was pretty good, offering good variety at the buffet and the A la cartes were very tasty. The beach was nice, small, but nice and clean. Overall, if we had arrived a week later or even before, our stay would have been so much more enjoyable!

Super!

This was an incredible resort! Wonderful food. If you don't like it you are very picky. I have been to many resorts in Cuba nothing like this. It is not authentic however it is a place I would recommend for a relaxing holiday. Sanctuary gives you the opportunity to a la carte everyday if you like. The servers are kind and soooo hospitable. They make you feel like royalty! Thank you

Staff need some help.

There are some wonderful things about this resort namely the beach and the staff!!! I can't say enough about the staff throughout the resort! There was ample food selection but preparation was not great (I guess you can't please everyone all of the time). The pool area is small and often you could not get chairs which isn't a problem if you like the beach. The public washrooms outside of the Sanctuary portion of the resort were awful. Usually there was no hand soap, toilet paper, paper towe [... read more]ls or even toilet seats, and the toilets were often plugged. I don't think the staff had proper cleaning products to work with and it appeared most of the time they were cleaning with rags and water. Things are very worn for example the towels and bedding have seen much better days and don't smell very good (back to the soap) The whole resort seems a little run down. To sum it up the staff were amazing and very hard working but they need a little help. Nothing some soap, a few good plumbers and maybe a power washer and paint couldn't fix. This may be a 4+ star resort in Cuba but in Mexico standards (despite the wonderful staff and beautiful beach) I would rate it a 3 star when you factor in the overall condition of the resort itself.

Amazing Varadero resort!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories was a great resort. Things happen at times with your room or experience and I believe that how the staff manages those issues is really what shows what the resort is all about. There was a mix up with the room, but the staff - everyone - assisted in making things right. The manager, the butlers and the concierges made our stay wonderful.

1st time in Cuba

Property: beautiful gardens/grounds...very well kept Food: decent...not fine dining, but enough selection and quality was fine Pools: good, lots on adjacent property, hot tub only warm Beach: lovely when not very windy Rooms: good, comfy Service: amazing...they do what they can to make sure the guest is helpful...Melissa was the best by far!!

Excellent place

This hotel was absolutely perfect! The people were nice, treated you like family. The food was not so bad at all, entertainment was amazing every night. The walking distance to the beach was breathtaking. The service was good. The only complaint would be the access to WiFi, it's very poor and a little tricky, but not the biggest problem. My overall experience at this hotel was just amazing and would come back again!

A Beautiful Oasis

This is my third time to the Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero...I was there May, June & October 2016 and cannot get enough of their hospitality. The Manager Francesco to the butlers Jose, Hanoi, Able, Mauricio could not do enough and all recognized us. Great fun to reunite and with Tony driving the electric carts. We had our same housekeeper Jeny who is the sweetest! The rooms were so clean, all amenities refreshed with new towels everyday, mini bar stocked and towels in different shapes [... read more] of animals left on the bed everyday with chocolates on the pillows at night.......it's the cleanliness of the rooms that is such a bonus and appreciated. The service in the lounge and restaurant at the sanctuary was outstanding, always a smile from the staff, very attentive and food was well prepared. All the staff including the animation leader Betsy, pool attendant Denis, pool bartenders & beach staff and bartenders could not do enough for the guests....so pleasant and always wanting to do more. The facilities at the hotel are great especially the cappuccino/lounge & the well maintained pool. Cannot emphasis enough the wonderful staff. It was a great hotel to stay and experience. The food was very good although the Cuba night dinner was not my favorite....I did love the lobster dinners, gala night, white party and the candlelight dinner at the pool though!

The resort that could......

There is a lot of potential for this resort.... but unfortunately missed on so many points. Everyone knows you dont go to Cuba for the food, but we actually found rocks in our food :( . The roomed they booked us into had two beds.... even though we booked as a honeymoon package. They were painting in the rooms beside us, which made us sick and despite numerous requests to be moved - took 3 days to move us. Having said all that, the rooms were not clean, the beds were hard as stone.. We [... read more] were supposed to have a butler assigned to us as a part of our Diamond Club, Santuary booking - but they were largely absent and not helpful. The water stopped working on one of the days, so toilets did not flush. The washrooms on the grounds were appalling. Filthy dirty and NEVER any toilet paper.. What made up for it was the well made drinks, entertainment staff and well maintained pool. This resort needs a serious look at overhauling the management,our experience could have been made a lot better if the staff was happy and didnt overlook details (like toilet paper in the washrooms!) There are better options for a stay in Cuba that this resort.

Amazing staff and great resort!

This resort is truly a great place to relax and unwind. The grounds are kept beautiful, the rooms are always clean, the beach is great. The restaurants have everything you need for food and amazing staff. The bars are fun and staff is very attentive. I can't say enough good things about this place. Every staff member I spoke with was super nice and they really appear to love their job. Many great memories! I look forward to returning very soon.

Disappointing

Overall I was very unimpressed with this hotel. The food was subpar, menu didn't vary much and was very bland. Their idea of a side dish was instant mashed potatoes (from a box) and frozen, soggy vegetables. I didn't eat much to be honest. I know Cuba isn't renowned for their food but we've had much better at other Cuban resorts. The rooms were dated. The main pool was murky and gross. So we stuck to the sanctuary pool. The positives were the staff, they're incredible. The beach is stunning. And [... read more] the live music at night was phenomenal.